Page 27 of Collision of Winters
Operator? Was that what they called their security guards?
“While we’re at it, there’s me,” he continued. “Do you think I applied for a position at Hillcroft?”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek.
When he put it that way…
He scrubbed his hands over his face, visibly frustrated. “I wish we’d known,” he repeated. “All these years, we could’ve…” He sighed and let his hands fall again. “Chris was right. We never should’ve kept you out of things.”
What? “Kept me out of what?” I asked, confused.
He rose from the couch and walked over to where his jacket hung. “In our defense, we wanted to protect you. You don’t spend twenty years around private military without risking attracting an enemy or two. We didn’t want you anywhere near it. But if we’d known you were interested in that lifestyle… I don’t know. Chris would’ve convinced Quin, that’s for sure.”
I was ready to yell at him. What the fuck was he talking about? But it looked like an answer was coming my way. Wade returned with his satellite phone, and he handed it to me.
“Do yourself a favor and look up Hillcroft properly.”
CHAPTER 5
Wade Winters
Ididn’t know if I was simply tired or if all these new revelations had turned over a new leaf, but I ended up telling Kayden pretty much everything. While he scrolled through Hillcroft’s website and got the gist of what we did at the agency, I admitted to him that Chris was an operator there. Quin used to be one, before he’d retired to the seventh floor and showed up for work in a suit every morning.
I couldn’t describe how frustrated I was, both with myself and with Kayden.
One part of me grew angrier and angrier, because how had I not seen this?
Someone who lacked passions could still be a passionate person, and that was how I’d describe him. He may have lacked direction in life, but he was still a young man who went all in, whether it was a new hobby or, as evidence showed, hiding his vulnerability.
His façade of indifference had just never made sense to me.
Why hadn’t I pushed for answers? For thetruth.
“There’s more,” I admitted. “Chris is currently on an assignment in South America to take care of a problem.”
Kayden’s head snapped up, phone forgotten.
“He’sfine,” I stressed. “I’m in constant contact with Quinlan. Chris is safe. But whoever came for him knows about you too. We think you were spotted together over the holidays.”
I was an asshole for dumping all this in one big pile of shit in Kayden’s lap, but the levees had clearly broken. I was over it. I had too many impressions, too much to process, and… From the kink—God, so much kink—to his confessed desire to work in logistics.
We had logistics officers at Hillcroft. Kayden could thrive there. He’d be away from danger, and he’d love his job.
I’dneverheard him say he was good at something before.
And now that I had… All bets were off. I didn’t know they would be, but here I was, ready to include him in everything. Anything to make him happy.
Kayden just stared at me, shell-shocked, and I couldn’t blame him.
“I’m sorry for springing this on you,” I said. “It’s incredibly selfish of me—not to mention tactless. But I’m tired of the secrecy in our family. It’s just now dawning on me how it’s been keeping us apart.”
He swallowed and wet his bottom lip nervously. “How can you be sure he’s safe? Why am I a target? Did I do something wrong? If Chris hurts himself because of me, I’ll?—”
“This has nothing to do with you, blue,” I was quick to say. “Our operators spend their careers in unsafe environments, and Chris specializes in organized crime. It goes without saying that he’s pissed off some people over the years, and this time, the trouble came home with him. They managed to find out who he is, and you happened to be with him when they did. Chris would’ve flown down there with or without you involved.”
My God, I should’ve told him all this once Chris was on his way home.
I was a fucking moron.
